{"id":2430357,"date":"2025-05-02T18:02:01","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T22:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rubio-calls-on-germany-to-reverse-course-after-country-designated-afd-an-extremist-group-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-05-02T18:04:20","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T22:04:20","slug":"rubio-calls-on-germany-to-reverse-course-after-country-designated-afd-an-extremist-group-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rubio-calls-on-germany-to-reverse-course-after-country-designated-afd-an-extremist-group-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Rubio calls on Germany to \u2018reverse course\u2019 after country designated AfD an \u2018extremist\u2019 group &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frubio-calls-on-germany-to-reverse-course-after-country-designated-afd-an-extremist-group-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2430357&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has condemned Germany&#8217;s decision to classify the Alternative f\u00fcr Deutschland (AfD) party as an &#8220;extremist&#8221; group. This designation, made by Germany\u2019s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, permits increased surveillance of the AfD, which recently became the most popular party in Germany, garnering 20.8% of the vote in federal elections. Rubio criticized the action as a move towards tyranny disguised as democracy, asserting that the real extremism lies in the establishment&#8217;s immigration policies that the AfD opposes. Other Trump governance officials adn supporters, including Vice President JD Vance and business mogul Elon Musk, echoed Rubio&#8217;s concerns, suggesting that the ruling government&#8217;s actions undermine free speech and democracy. The German agency justified its classification by claiming the AfD&#8217;s rhetoric aims to exclude certain groups from society, indicating a potential crackdown on opposition political parties. This situation has further strained U.S.-German relations, notably as some lawmakers consider a ban on the AfD.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Rubio calls on Germany to &lsquo;reverse course&rsquo; after country designated AfD an &lsquo;extremist&rsquo; group<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2016904\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Secretary of State <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/marco-rubio\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Marco Rubio\">Marco Rubio<\/a> condemned the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/germany\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Marco Rubio\">German<\/a> domestic spy agency for designating the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3374803\/afd-becomes-most-popular-party-germany-first-time\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Alternative f&uuml;r Deutschland<\/a> party an &ldquo;extremist&rdquo; group.<\/p>\n<p>Germany&rsquo;s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the Verfassungsschutz, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3399059\/german-intelligence-designates-afd-extremist-group\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"claimed the AfD was trying\">claimed Friday that the AfD was trying<\/a> to &ldquo;undermine the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/german-intelligence-designates-afd-extremist-group-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"German intelligence designates ... &#039;...&#039; ... - Washington Examiner\">free democratic basic order<\/a>&rdquo; &mdash; opening up the ability to greater surveil the group. The move drew backlash from the Trump administration, with Rubio and others voicing their concern on social media.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3399423\/sistine-chapel-chimney-installed-conclave\/\">Sistine Chapel chimney installed by Vatican fire corps ahead of conclave<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/3399230\/king-charles-iii-open-canadian-parliament-sovereignty\/\">King Charles III to open Canadian parliament to underscore &#8216;sovereignty&#8217; of country<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3399239\/gaza-aid-ship-attack-drone-malta-coast-israeli-government\/\">Humanitarian ship headed for Gaza purportedly attacked by drones<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. That&rsquo;s not democracy&mdash;it&rsquo;s tyranny in disguise. What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD&mdash;which took second in the recent election&mdash;but rather the establishment&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">deadly open border immigration policies<\/a> that the AfD opposes. Germany should reverse course,&rdquo; Rubio said in a post on X.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition.  That&rsquo;s not democracy&mdash;it&rsquo;s tyranny in disguise.  <\/p>\n<p>What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD&mdash;which took second in the recent election&mdash;but rather the establishment&rsquo;s deadly open border immigration policies&hellip;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecRubio\/status\/1918344238468649055?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The message was reposted and quoted by Vice President JD Vance, who expressed a similar statement.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The AfD is the most popular party in Germany, and by far the most representative of East Germany. Now the bureaucrats try to destroy it. The West tore down the Berlin Wall together. And it has been rebuilt&mdash;not by the Soviets or the Russians, but by the German establishment,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The AfD is the most popular party in Germany, and by far the most representative of East Germany. Now the bureaucrats try to destroy it. <\/p>\n<p>The West tore down the Berlin Wall together. And it has been rebuilt&mdash;not by the Soviets or the Russians, but by the German establishment. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Un6suHtSNJ\">https:\/\/t.co\/Un6suHtSNJ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; JD Vance (@JDVance) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JDVance\/status\/1918403354922799463?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>AfD leader Alice Weidel also quoted the message in a post.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Right! The spy agency works for the ruling government, which is responsible for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/president-trump-pushes-border-security-election-integrity-economy-at-fla-rally\/\" title=\"President Trump pushes border security, election integrity, economy at Fla. rally\">illegal mass migration<\/a>, sky-rocketing criminal rates, highest taxes, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nolte-back-domestic-drilling-or-shut-up-about-opposing-putin\/\" title=\"Nolte: Back Domestic Drilling or Shut Up About Opposing Putin\">highest energy prices<\/a>. Since the AfD is the strongest party in polls now, they want to suppress the opposition &amp; freedom of speech,&rdquo; she said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Right! The spy agency works for the ruling government, which is responsible for illegal mass migration, sky-rocketing criminal rates, highest taxes, highest energy prices. Since the AfD is the strongest party in polls now, they want to suppress the opposition &amp; freedom of speech. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MZ7uhsNckw\">https:\/\/t.co\/MZ7uhsNckw<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Alice Weidel (@Alice_Weidel) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Alice_Weidel\/status\/1918379501261594934?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The AfD&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3374803\/afd-becomes-most-popular-party-germany-first-time\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">became the single most popular party in Germany<\/a>&nbsp;for the first time last month, with its share of the vote growing slightly since. It is the first time since the founding of the modern German Republic that a party other than the Christian Democratic Union or Social Democratic Party took the top spot in polls.<\/p>\n<p>The AfD came second in the February federal elections with 20.8% of the vote, taking 152 seats in the 630-seat Bundestag.<\/p>\n<p>Department of Government Efficiency de facto head Elon Musk, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3300914\/musk-tells-germans-afd-move-beyond-past-guilt-right-wing-party-speech\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"open backer of the AfD\">open backer of the AfD<\/a>, also criticized the decision.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Banning the centrist AfD, Germany&rsquo;s, most popular party, would be an extreme attack on democracy,&rdquo; he warned in a post on X.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Banning the centrist AfD, Germany&rsquo;s, most popular party, would be an extreme attack on democracy <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/667V87lKSX\">https:\/\/t.co\/667V87lKSX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1918347089366667507?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The Trump administration&rsquo;s open bashing of the German government&rsquo;s decision could further harm the already tense relations between the two nations.<\/p>\n<p>The Verfassungsschutz justified its decision to designate the AfD as an extremist group by claiming the party didn&rsquo;t consider citizens of a &ldquo;migration background from predominantly Muslim countries&rdquo; as equal to native Germans.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The party&rsquo;s prevailing understanding of the people based on ethnicity and descent is incompatible with the free democratic basic order. It aims to exclude certain population groups from equal participation in society, subject them to unconstitutional discrimination, and thus assign them a legally devalued status,&rdquo; a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.verfassungsschutz.de\/SharedDocs\/pressemitteilungen\/DE\/2025\/pressemitteilung-2025-05-02.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement<\/a>&nbsp;from the agency read.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration&rsquo;s opposition to the move is predictable not only due to free speech concerns but also due to a number of stances it shares with the AfD, particularly on immigration.<\/p>\n<p>The Verfassungsschutz&rsquo;s designation of the AfD as &ldquo;extremist&rdquo; largely centered on its rhetoric surrounding immigration, rhetoric that wouldn&rsquo;t be controversial in the Trump administration. Evidence cited by&nbsp;<em>Der Spiegel<\/em>&nbsp;included Weidel&rsquo;s use of the &ldquo;right-wing extremist term &lsquo;remigration,&rsquo;&rdquo; though the term is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vlaamsbelang.org\/nieuws\/geen-europees-asielagentschap-maar-agentschap-voor-remigratie-nodig\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">commonplace<\/a>&nbsp;among&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/nl-be\/nieuws\/politiek\/leidende-fp%C3%B6-zet-bij-oostenrijkse-verkiezingen-in-op-remigratie\/ar-AA1pbj84?ocid=BingNewsVerp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mainstream<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/world-news\/2022\/03\/22\/eric-zemmour-vows-create-remigration-ministry-expel-foreigners\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">right-wing<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.voxespana.es\/vox-en-el-parlamento-de-cataluna\/ignacio-garriga-remigracion-masiva-salou-inseguridad-20240229?provincia=tarragona\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">populist<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lastampa.it\/politica\/2025\/01\/11\/news\/remigrazione_lega_giovani_como-14932092\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">parties<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.moroccoworldnews.com\/2021\/01\/332929\/wilders-party-wants-dutch-ministry-of-remigration-de-islamification\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">across<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.euractiv.com\/section\/politics\/news\/swedish-coalition-divided-over-remigration-allowance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Europe<\/a>. While not as commonly used in the United States, the term can often be used interchangeably with deportations.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3399059\/german-intelligence-designates-afd-extremist-group\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">GERMAN INTELLIGENCE DESIGNATES AFD &lsquo;EXTREMIST&rsquo; GROUP AFTER BECOMING COUNTRY&rsquo;S MOST POPULAR PARTY<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The agency also cited incidents in which party officials dressed up as deportation pilots or handed out airplane-shaped gummy bears during the federal election campaign.<\/p>\n<p>The designation of the AfD as an extremist group may also boost talks to ban the party altogether, as some senior German party officials are suggesting and Musk warned about. Such a move would further draw the ire of the Trump administration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2016904\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2016904\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rubio urges Germany to change course after AfD labeled &#8216;extremist&#8217; by spy agency<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2653,"featured_media":2430358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/AP25034646203788-scaled-1024x683.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[47181,3946,5438],"class_list":["post-2430357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-afd","tag-germany","tag-rubio"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/AP25034646203788-scaled-1024x683.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2430357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2653"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2430357"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2430357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2430361,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2430357\/revisions\/2430361"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2430358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2430357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2430357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2430357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}